Pleating attachment for sewing machines



June 26, 1962 R. E. SAYLES 3,040,683

PLEATING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Feb. 10, 1958 2Sheets-Sheet 1 60 gmmlcl J f" INVENTOR. Raymond 5 .fiay/es ATTOKN June26, 1962 R. E. SAYLES 3,040,683

PLEATING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Feb. 10, 1958 2Sheets-Sheet 2 "E 7 INVENTOR.

Pay/Wand E. jay/es 3,040,683 Patented June 26, 1962 3,040,683 PLEATINGATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Raymond E. Sayles, Kansas City, Mo.,assignor to Pennway Garment 02., Kansas City, Mo., a corporation ofMissouri Filed Feb. 10, 1958, Ser. No. 714,396 17 Claims. (Cl. 112-134)This invention relates to sewing equipment and more particularly, to animproved pleating attachment for power operated sewing machines.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide an attachment fora power operated sewing machine which is particularly adapted forpleating material being advanced through the machine completelyindependent of reciprocation of the needle of the sewing machine, to theend that pleats of virtually any size and any number for a selectedlength of the material may be formed as the pleats are sewn in place bythe needle.

Another very important object of the invention is to provide a pleatingattachment which includes a substantially horizontally reciprocablepusher element disposed adjacent the needle for engaging and pleatingthe material as the element is moved in a direction toward the needle,and wherein is provided power operated means coupled with the pusherelement for reciprocating the latter at infinitely variable speedswithin a preselected range so that the width of pleats formed in thematerial maybe greatly varied.

Also an additional important aim of the invention is to provide apleating attachment which includes cam actuated means associated withthe power means operably driving the pleat forming pusher element forinterrupting reciprocation of the latter at preselected intervals, sothat the number of pleats formed in a designated length of the materialmay be varied.

Another important object relates to the provision of cam actuated meansas described which is driven by infinitely variable power means within apredetermined range so that interruption of reciprocation of the pleatforming pusher element may be varied within a Wide number of intervals.

Other important objects of the invention relate to the provision ofsingle revolution clutch means interconnecting the shaft forreciprocating the pusher element and the power shaft rotatable at aninfinitely variable rate within a preselected range, so that byproviding means for preventing rotation of the clutch disk connected tothe drive shaft coupled with the pusher element, reciprocation of thepusher element may be interrupted at preselected intervals to therebypermit variation of the number of pleats formed as the material isadvanced through the machine; to the provision of solenoid means havingan arm thereon releasably engageable with the clutch disk connected tothe drive shaft coupled with the pusher element, so that rotation of thespecified clutch disk may be stopped upon energization of the solenoid;to the provision of cam actuated switch means for energizing the rotarysolenoid to the end that rotation of the clutch disk attached to thedrive shaft coupled with the pusher element may be interrupted bysuitable cam mechanism; to the provision of a cam wheel having aplurality of cams on the periphery thereof disposed to actuate thesolenoid switch referred to above, so that interruption of reciprocationof the pusher element and thereby the number of pleats formed may beselectively controlled; to the provision of power means coupled withsaid cam wheel for rotating the same and infinitely variable within apreselected number of rpm. so that discontinuance of reciprocation ofthe pleat forming pusher element may be suitably controlled asubstantially infinite range; to the provision of structure reciprocablymounting the pleat forming pusher element on the head of the machine andwhich includes means for varying the length of the stroke of the pusherelement so that the width of each pleat may also be selectively changedin this manner; to the provision of stop means on the structure forlimiting movement of the pusher element toward the needle to preventbinding of the material as the same is pleated and advanced through themachine and to assure that the needle engages the pleat; to theprovision of structure especially adapted for use on commercial typesewing machines and which may be constructed. of readily availablecomponents without need for special machining and costly fabricatingoperations; and to other lesser objects and details of constructionwhich will become obvious or be explained more fully as the followingspecification progresses.

In the drawings: I

FIGURE 1 is a side 'elevational view of a pleating attachment embodyingthe principles of the present invention and showing the componentsthereof mounted in correct disposition on the head of a standardcommercial sewing machine;

'FIG. 2 is a plan view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view of the pleating attachment mounted onthe sewing machine head with certain components of the mechanism beingbroken away to illustrate details of construction;

FIG. 4 is an end elevational view of the opposite extremity of themachine and illustrating in phantom the manner in which the pusherelement of the attachment forms pleats in material being advancedthrough the. ma-. chine;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially on meral 10 andillustrated in the drawings in its preferred embodiment is shown mountedin position on the head 12 of a standard commercial sewing machine '14.Head 12 includes a substantially upright housing 16 at one end thereofoperably supporting a shiftable presser foot 18 and a verticallyreciprocalble needle 20 driven by suitable gear and linkage structurehoused within head 12 and driven by a power pulley 22, suitably rotatedby an endless belt 24 coupled with a prime mover in the nature of anelectric motor (not shown). Machine 14 also includes material advancingmechanism 26' disposed be neath the needle 20; suitably driven by thepower pulley 22 through parts within head 12 and the base of ma chine 14and operably correlated with reciprocation of needle 20 to advancematerial 28 through machine 14 at a speed dependent upon the rate ofreciprocation of needle 20.

Pleating attachment 10 includes a pusher element broadly designated bythe numeral 30 reciprocably mounted on head 12 adjacent needle 20 anddisposed for movement in a direction in alignment with movement ofmaterial 28 through machine 14. Structure broadly numerated 32 isprovided for reciprocably mounting pusher element 30 on head 16 andincludes an elongated mounting bar 34 secured to the outer vertical faceof upright housing 16 by-a pair of horizontally spaced fasteners 36. Acrank 38 is mounted on structure '32 andhas an elongated, substantiallyhorizontal shaft 40 rotatably journalled in end 42 of mounting bar 34and provided with a connecting link 44 rigidly secured to the endthereof away from head 12 and spaced from the outer face of mounting bar34. I

An elongated, substantially upright rocker arm 46 is. provided with ahorizontal cross shaft 48 secured to the lowermost end of arm 46 itbeing noted that pusher element 30 is mounted on shaft 48 forreciprocation there- 7 ends of members 50 and 52 adjacent shaft 48 arelooped i over the latter with the extremities of members 50 and 52 beingsecured to proximal parts of respective intermediate portions thereof byscrews. 54. .A pair of. coil springs 56 are disposed in opposedrelationship over shaft 48 on opposite sides of members 50 and 52, eachof the springs 56 being provided with an L-shaped extension 58positioned over corresponding members Strand 52 in a manner to bias thesame downwardly into engagement with the uppermostface of the base,plate 60 of machine 14. Member 50 is provided with a longitudinallyextending, medianly disposed slot 62in the extremity thereof away fromshaft 48 to clear needle 20 when pusher element 30 is reciprocatedtoward presser foot 18.

Means for reciprocating link 44 of crank 38 to in turn reciprocaterocker 46 and pusher element 30 includes a disk 64 mounted on theoutermost end of and rotatable with a drive shaft 66 journalled within abearing 68 secured to the end 70 of mounting bar 34 and aligned with ashaft opening (not shown) 'within bar 34. An elongated,eccentricmounting plate 72 is secured to the outer face of disk 64 forrotation therewith andhas an elongated T-sh'aped slot 74 therein whichreceives a corn plementally headed pin 76, as illustrated in FIG. 2.

Knurled nut 78 threaded on the outermost end of pin 76 maintainsconnectorj80 in position between mounting plate 72 and nut 78. As shownin FIG. 4, connector 80 has a sleeve portion 81 rotatably receivingan'internal, annular collar 83. A washer 82 between nut 78 and collar 83permits the latter to rotate with respect to nut 78. Collar 83 projectsoutwardly fromthe face of connector 80 proximal to mounting plate 72 sothat connector 80'clears plate 72 and is 'free to rotate about collar83.

A connecting rod 84 secured to connector 80 is also joined'to theoutermost end of link '44;by a head 86 slidably mounted on connectingrod, 84 and pivotally connected to the outermost end of link 44. A stopsleeve 90 disposed on the outermost end of rod 84 proximal to crank 38prevents head 86 from sliding off of rod 84, and a coil spring 92interposed between stop sleeve 94 and head 86maintains the latter inengagement with stop sleeve 90.

on one end thereof and disposed over and secured to of a speed reducer116 through a coupling 118 having a sprocket Wheel 1220 forming anintegral part thereof.

-The input shaft 122 of speed reducer 116 is operably coupled with powerpulley 22 through suitable sprocket and chain means 124. Means isprovided for preventing rotation of disk 110 at preselected intervalsand includes a rotary solenoid 126 having an elongated arm 128 connectedintermediate its ends to the armature 129 thereof for rotationtherewith. Details of rotary solenoid 126 are not shown but a solenoidsold under the trademark Ledex by the G. H. Leland Company, Dayton,Ohio, designated Model No. 5, is given by way of example to illustrate asuitable device. The normally'uppermost end of arm 128 is substantiallyhook-shaped and provided with a recess 130 adapted to receive a pin 132attached to the outer face of disk 110 away from solenoid 126. A

V coil spring 134 interconnecting the lowermost end of arm shaft 40 ispositioned to limit reciprocation'of element 30 toward needle 20. Asillustrated in FIG. 4, limiter 96 extends inwardly from shaft 40 towardfasteners 36 of mounting bar 34 in a manner to engage a verticallymovable stop screw 100 threaded into a bracket 102 joined to mountingbar 34. A

A pair of universal 'joints 104 are interposed in drive shaft and theend of shaft 66'away from structure 32 is connected to a power shaft 106through a single revolution clutch broadly numerated 108. Clutch 108 ispreferably of the single revolution type, an example being the Hilliardclutch, manufactured by the Hilliard Corporation, Elmira, New York, andwhich includes a pair of 'disk elements 110 and 112 secured to driveshaft66-and power shaft106 respectively. Such a clutch is illustratedand described in U.S. Letters Patent No. 2,140,737, entitled Clutch,Serial No. 116,275, issued December 20,1938, to R. G. Dickens.

Powershaft 106 is connected to the output shaft 114 '128 and machine 14normally biases the upper end of arm 128 away from disk and pin 132.However, upon actuation of solenoid 126 to rotate the armature 129thereof, arm 128 is rotated to a position with the hookshaped uppermostend thereof disposed in a position for recess 130 to receive pin 132 andthereby prevent rotation of disk 118 with respect to disk 112.

Cam actuated means broadly designated by the numeral 136 isprovidedforcontrolling operation of solenoid 126 and includes acircular" cam wheel 138 mounted on the output shaft 140 of a speedreducer 142 for rotation therewith. The input shaft 144 of speed reducer142 is operably driven by chain and sprocket means 146. A solenoidcontrol switch 148 is mounted on head 12 in a position so that the.switch blade 150 thereof is adapted to be engaged by a plurality ofcams broadly designated 152 and mounted on the, periphery of wheel 138.Engagement of one of the cams 152 with blade 150 .moves the same to aposition shifting contact pin 154 to a location closing switch 148.Switch 148 is electrically connected (not shownfwith solenoid 126 sothat upon closing of switch 148, solenoid 126 is energized to cause thearmature 129 thereof to be rotated and thereby shift arm 128 to aposition with the hook portion thereof positioned in a location to causepin 132. to move into recess 130.

Each of the cams 152 includes a substantially U-shaped main body portion156 adapted to be positioned over the outer peripheraledge of wheel 138,as clearly illustrated in FIG. 5, with legs 158 and 160 located onopposite sides 'of wheel 138. A screw 162 is threaded into leg 160 forsecuring cam 152 to wheel 138, and a projection 164 integral with andextending laterally from the outer face of'leg 158 serves as means forengaging blade 150 to move the latter into a position causing contactpin 154 to be moved to a location closing switch 148. Speed reducers'116and 142 are preferably of the infinitely variable type wherein theoutput shafts 114 and 140 thereof maybe operated at infinitelychangeablespeeds within a predetermined range. An example of apreferred type ofspeed reducer is the Zero-Max? power transmission manufactured by Revco,Incorporated, Minneapolis, Minnesota, the preferred model 142X having anoutput speed range infinitely variable from zero to one-fourth of theinput speed. Such a speed reducer is illustrated and de scribed in U.S.Letters Patent No. 2,691,896, entitled Variable Speed PowerTransmission, Serial No. 121,264 issued October 19, 1954, to S. O.Stageberg. Control handles 166 and 168 on reducers 116 and 142respectively permit the speed of output shafts 114 and 140 to be variedwithin the range of the reducers.

In operation, presser foot 18 of machine 14 is raised through suitablemechanism (not shown) to permit the end of'material 28 to be placed .inposition beneath presser foot 18'and needle 20 and over materialadvancing mechanism 26. i-Then, presser foot 18 is loweredinto'engagement with material 28 whereupon material 28 is in positionfor sewing andv pleating. Assuming Rotation of power pulley 22 causesthe input shaft 122 of'speed reducer 116 to be driven at a speedsomewhat lower than the shaft of pulley 22, thereby rotating outputshaft 114 at a preselected speed with respect to input shaft 122.Inasmuch as power shaft 1% is directly coupled with output shaft 114,drive shaft 66 is rotated at the same speed as power shaft 106 throughthe interconnected disks 110 and 112 of clutch 108. Rotation of driveshaft 66 causes mounting plate 72 to be rotated and thereby turningconnector 80 in a circular path of travel about the axis of disk 64. Itcan be seen that because of the eccentric disposition of sleeve 81 ofconnector 80 with respect to the axis of disk 64, rotation of the lattercauses connector 80 to be rotated in a circular are disposed in spacedrelationship to the axis of disk 64.

Circular movement of connector 80 reciprocates connecting rod 84substantially horizontally to thereby rock arm 46 about the axis ofshaft 40 as link 44 of crank 38 is reciprocated by rod 84. Rockingmovement of arm 46 moves pusher element 30 toward and away from needle20 and, inasmuch as springs 56 bias members 50 and 52 downwardly intoengagement with material 28, it can be seen that members 50 and 52frictionally engage material 28 as pusher element 30 is reciprocatedtoward needle 20 to thereby overlap a portion of material 28, asillustrated in FIG. 4, and form a pleat 17th It can be appreciated thatshaft 66 is driven at a sufiicient rate through speed reducer 116 toform pleats 170- as material 28 is advanced by mechanism 26 throughmachine 14. The width of pleats 170 which are formed of course dependsupon the speed of rotation of drive shaft 66 and thereby the rate atwhich pusher element 30 is reciprocated toward needle 20 as material 28is advanced by mechanism 26. It can be appreciated that if pusherelement 30 is reciprocated toward needle 20 at a substantially fasterrate than the speed of advancement of material 28 by mechanism 26, arelatively wide pleat 170 will be formed, while if the speed ofreciprocation of pusher element '30 is slowed down considerably, arelatively narrow pleat will be formed in material 28.

The number of pleats 178 which are formed in a selected length ofmaterial 28 is controlled by speed reducer 142 and the relativepositions of cams 152 on cam wheel 138. With handle 168 of speed reducer142 disposed at a position permitting the output shaft 140 thereof to bedriven at a reduced speed with respect to input shaft 144 thereof, itcan be seen that cam wheel 138 is rotated with and at the same speed asoutput shaft 140. Rotation of output shaft 140 causes cams 152 to berotated in a manner so that the same successively engage blade 150 ofswitch 148 to in turn reciprocate contact pin 154, thereby alternatelyopening and closing the switchmechanism within control switch 148.

, It is understood that as the switching mechanism within control switch148 is closed, rotary solenoid 126 is energized to cause the armature129 thereof to be rotated to in turn rotate arm 128 against the actionof spring 134 and move the uppermost hook portion'of arm 128 into aposition where pin 132 is moved into recess 130. Inasmuch as clutch 108is of the single revolution type, engagement of the hook portion of arm128 with pin 132 prevents disk 1 10 and thereby, drive shaft 66, fromrotating while disk 112 and power shaft 106 continue to rotate withoutput shaft 114 of speed reducer 116. So long as solenoid 126 isenergized and arm 128 is maintained in engagement with pin 132, rotationof shaft 66 is interrupted and reciprocation of pusher element 30 isprevented. Immediately upon disengagement of one of the cams 152 fromswitch blade 150, the switch mechanism within control switch 148 isopened to deenergize solenoid 126, whereupon spring 134 biases arm 128out of engagement with pin 132, permitting drive shaft 66 to rotate.With a plurality of cams 152 disposed on cam wheel 138 at equally spacedpositions, as illustrated in' FIG. 3, rotation of drive shaft 66 andreciprocation of pusher element 3 8 is intermittently interrupted tothereby control the number of pleats 170 which are formed in material28. Speeding up rotation of cam wheel 138 decreases the number of pleatsformed, while slowing wheel 138 down has the opposite effect.

It is to be pointed out that if it isdesired to prevent rotation ofdrive shaft 66 and thereby, reciprocation of pusher element 30, for anextended period of time, this end that unpleated areas in material 28are formed at selected intervals- By utilization of speed reducers suchas 116 and 142 wherein the speed of .the'output shafts 114 .and 140thereof may be infinitely varied within a preselectedrange, it can beseen that the number and width of pleats 178 which are formed inmaterial 28 as the same is advanced may be substantially infinitelychanged and also, such pleating may be interrupted at preselectedintervals which also may be infinitely changed within selected limits.

The length of the stroke of pusher element 30 as the same isreciprocated may also be changed by varying the position of sleeve 83 ofconnector 88 with respect to plate 72. It can be seen that by looseningscrew 82, sleeve 83 may be shifted in slot 74 to thereby change thedegree of eccentricity of connector with respect to disk 64. In thismanner, the width of pleats 170 may be changed to the desired dimension.

When limiter 96 engages stop screw it can be seen that pusher element 38is maintained in proximal relationship to needle 20 before being movedback as rocker arm 46 is reciprocated and thus, needle 20 is depressedtwo or more times before pusher element 30' moves backwardly so thatformation of aline of stitching in the pleat 17 0 is assured beforemembers 50 and 52 are retracted from a adjacent needle .20 pulling thematerial 28 backwardly and thus changing the size of pleat 170. Aslimiter 96 engages stopscrew 100, reciprocation of crank link 44 isstopped while connecting rod 84 continues to move with respect to head86 against the action of spring 92. In this manner, positive engagementof connecting rod 84 with crank link 44 is assured.

Although universal joints 104 could be eliminated in drive shaft 66,provision of the same has been found advantageous because it is notnecessary to absolutely align drive shaft 66 and output 114 ofspeedreducer 116.

Having thus described the invention What is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination with a sewing machine provided with a reciprocableneedle, a drive unit and material advancing mechanism, an attachment forsaid machine and including a pusher element; structure reciprocablymounting said pusher element adjacent said needle for movement towardand away from the latter, said element being disposed in a position totrictionally engage the material as the element is reciprocated in adirection toward the needle and to push the pleated material beneathsaid needle for engagement thereby; and linkage means interconnectingsaid structure with said drive unit for operably coupling said driveunit with said element for recipvancing mechanism, an attachment forsaid machine and including a pusher element; structure reciprocablymounting said pusher element adjacent said needle for movement towardand away from the latter, said element being disposed in a position tofrictionally engage the material as the element is reciprocated in adirection toward the needle and to push the pleated material beneathsaid needle for engagement thereby; power means including an elongated,rotatable linkage for operably coupling said drive unit with saidelement for reciprocating the latter at a variable speed relativeatoreciprocation of the needle and suflicient to pleat the material as thelatter is advanced through the machine by said mechanism; andmeans as-'sociated with said power means for selectively interrupting the rotationof said linkage and thereby the reciprocation of said pusher element asthe material is advanced to thereby permit variation of the number ofpleats formed in a designated length of material.

3. In combination with a sewing machine provided with posed in aposition to frictionally engagethe material as the element isreciprocated in a direction toward the needle and to push the pleatedmaterial beneath said needle for engagement thereby; means including anelongated, rotatable linkage interconnecting said structure withfsaiddrive unit for operably coupling said drive unit with said element forreciprocating the latter at a variable speed relative to reciprocationof the needle and'sufficient to pleat the material as the latter isadvanced throughthe machine by said mechanism; and means associated withsaid structure for varying the length of the stroke of the pusherelement in said direction whereby the width of each pleat may beselectively varied.

4. In combinationwith a sewing machine provided with a reciprocableneedle, a drive unit and material ad- I vancing mechanism, an attachmentfor said machine and including a pusherelement; structure reciprocablymounting said pusher element adjacent said needle 'for movev81 includinga pusher element; structure reciprocably mounting said pusher elementadjacent said needle for movement toward and away from the latter, saidelement being disposed in a position tofrictionally engage the material:I as the element is reciprocated in a direction toward the needle and topush the pleated material beneath said needle for engagement thereby;power means including an elongated, rotatable linkage interconnectingsaid structure with said drive unit for opera-bly coupling said driveunit with said element for reciprocating the latter at a variable speedrelative to reciprocation of-the needle and sulficient to pleat thematerial as the latter is advanced. through the machine by saidmechanism; and control means associated with said power means forselectively varying the speed of rotation of said linkage and therebythe 'rate of reciprocation of said pusher element as the material isadvanced to permit variation of the width of each pleat. r

6. In combination with a sewing machine provided with a reciprocableneedle, a drive unit and material advancing mechanism, an attachment forsaid machine and including a pusher element; structure reciprocablymounting said pusher element adjacent said needle for movement towardand away from the latter, said element being disposed in a position tofrictionally engage the material as the element is reciprocatedinadirection toward the needle and to push thepleated material beneathsaid' rupting the rotation of said linkage and thereby the reciprocationof said pusher element and thereby pleating of the material atpredetermined intervals as the material is advanced to permit variationof the number ofpleats formed in a designated length of material.

5; In combination with, a sewing machine provided with a reciprocableneedle, a driveunit and material advancing mechanism, an attachment forsaid machine and ment toward and away from the latter, said elementbeing disposed in a position to frictionally engage the material as theelement is reciprocated in a direction toward the needle and to push thepleated material beneath said needle for engagement thereby; and powermeans includ-' ing an elongated, rotatable linkage interconnecting saidstructure with said drive unit for operably coupling said drive unitwithsaid element for reciprocating the latter as'a variable speed relativeto reciprocation of the needle and suflicient to pleat the material asthe latter is advanced through the machine by said mechanism, said powermeans including parts for permitting infinite variation of the speed ofrotation of said linkage and thereby the speed of reciprocation of saidelement within a preselected range.

7. In-combination with a sewing machine provided with a reciprocableneedle and material advancing mechanism, an attachment for said machineand including a pusher element; structure reciprocably mounting saidpusher element adjacent said needlefor movement toward and away from thelatter, said element being disposed in a position to frictionally engagethe material as the element is reciprocated in a direction toward theneedle and to push the pleated material beneath said needle forengagement thereby; power means operably means including components foractuating said stop means and movable to. an infinite number ofpositions to thereby permit infinite variation of interruption ofreciprocation of said element within a range of preselected intervals.

7 8. In combination with a sewing machine provided with a reciprocableneedle and material advancing mechanism, an attachment for said machineand including a pusher element; structure reciprocably mounting saidpusher element adjacent said needle for movement toward and away fromthe latter, said element being disposed in a position to frictionallyengage the material as the element is reciprocated in a direction towardthe needle and to push the pleated material beneath said needle forengagement thereby; power means operably coupled with said element forreciprocating the latter at a variable speed relative to reciprocationof the needle and sufiicient to pleat the material as the latter isadvanced through the machine by said mechanism; cam means; stop meansactuated by said cam means and associated with said power means forinterrupting reciprocation of said pusher element and thereby pleatingof the material at predetermined intervals as the material is advancedto permit variation of the number of pleats formed in a designatedlength of material; and control means coupled with said power means forselectively varying the rate of reciprocation of said pusher element asthe material is advanced to permit variation of the width of each pleat.

9. In combination with a sewing machine provided with a reciprocableneedle and material advancing mechanism, an attachment for said machineand including a pusher element; structure reciprocably mounting saidpusher element adjacent said needle for movement toward and away fromthe latter, said element being disposed in a position to frictionallyengage the material as the element is reciprocated in a direction towardthe needle and to push the pleated material beneath said needle forengagement thereby; a drive shaft operably 'and stop means actuated bysaid cam means and including an arm releasably engageable with saidfirst member of the clutch for preventing rotation of the latter andthereby reciprocation of the element upon actuation of said means tothereby permit variation of the number of pleats formed in a selectedlength of material.

10. The combination as set forth in claim 9 wherein said cam actuatedmeans includes a rotatable cam wheel having at least one cam on theperiphery thereof, a switch adjacent the wheel and provided with a bladedisposed in a position to close the switch when the blade is contactedby said cam and a rotary solenoid located proximal to said clutch, saidarm being connected to the armature of said solenoid whereby uponengagement of the cam with said blade and closing of the switch topermit energization of the solenoid the arm is moved into restrictingengagement with said first member.

11. The combination as set forth in claim 10 wherein is provided aplurality of cams removably positioned on the periphery of said camwheel whereby pleating of the material is interrupted at preselectedintervals.

12. The combination as set forth in claim 11 wherein the circumferentialspacing of said cams around the periphery of said cam wheel may beinfinitely varied.

.13. The combination as set forth in claim 9 wherein said structureincludes a rocker arm adapted to be swingably mounted on said head andsupporting the pusher element in said position and adjustable stop meansadapted to be positioned on said head in a location to engage means onsaid rocker arm for limiting movement of said pusher element toward theneedle.

14. The combination as set forth in claim 13 wherein is providedeccentric means interconnecting said drive shaft and the rocker arm forreciprocating the latter and in turn said pusher element.

15. The combination as set forth in claim 14 wherein said eccentricmeans includes a crank secured to said rocker arm, a disk attached tosaid drive shaft for ro tation therewith and a connecting rod rotatablyjoined to said crank and the disk respectively and positionedeccentrically with respect to the axis of rotation of said disk.

16. The combination as set forth in claim 15 wherein the degree ofeccentricity of the rod with respect to the disk may be adjusted wherebythe length of the stroke of said pusher element may be varied.

17. The combination as set forth in claim 9 wherein said element isprovided with an inwardly extending slot in the edge thereof movableinto proximity to said needle, said slot being disposed to clear theneedle and thereby permit said edge of the element to slide past theneedle as the element is reciprocated toward the same.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,800,409 Schuepbach Apr. 14, 1931 2,140,737 Dickens Dec. 20, 19382,691,896 Stageberg Oct. 19, 1954 2,782,905 Smith Feb. 26, 19572,803,207 Sotzky Aug. 20, 1957 2,805,583 Besel Sept. 10, 1957 FOREIGNPATENTS 5 0 C nad

